The invention relates to automobile doors and window regulators, and particularly to doors and window regulators for cabriolets or convertibles.
Cabriolets are known, in particular the Peugeot 206CC, in which the door has no window frame. In this case, it is then particularly important to adjust the position of the top of the window in the transverse direction of the vehicle.
The Peugeot 206CC has a door window regulator with a rail that is adjustable in the transverse direction. The window regulator comprises two rails running vertically inside a front door. These rails have a slider guide groove. A lug is fixed to the lower part of the rail. This lug forms approximately an angle of about 90° with respect to the rail and thus projects in the transverse direction of the vehicle. A screw is welded to this lug. A bridging piece is arranged against a lower sheet metal return of the door or of the chassis. The return has an opening for accessing the bridging piece. The bridging piece has an oblong hole running in the transverse direction of the vehicle. The screw passes through the oblong hole and is fixed by a nut to the bridging piece. During assembly on a production line, the nut is fitted and tightened from the underside of the door. As far as the operator is concerned, this is a tricky and not very ergonomic way of fitting the nut.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,064 discloses a guiding mechanism for slidable curved window panes of automotive vehicles, which involves a transversally mounted adjusting screw for effecting adjustable final positioning of the guide rail. The adjusting screw is visible and therefore accessible from the inside of the vehicle, which may cause an accidental manipulation from the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,942 discloses several window adjustment apparatuses, wherein the lower end of the guide channel is remotely controlled, requiring thereby the embodiment of an additional housing and an adjustment member.
Both U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,960,588 and 5,632,121 describe adjusting devices for automobile window panes, wherein the transverse positioning of the window pane is effected by means of bolted connections. These fastening elements are accessible only from the underside of the door body, the manipulation of which is not easy nor very ergonomic.
A still further means is known from WO-A-98 16709, which proposes making use of a coarse and a fine adjust bolts for the coarse and fine adjustment steps, respectively. The operator is therefore required to manipulate two separate bolts on two different locations.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,285 discusses a window regulator mechanism for positioning a window glass member in the course of its vertical movement.